5 Simple Tricks: Learn All Notes on the Guitar

While there are many ways to learn all the notes on the guitar. Here’s 5 simple tricks to master the guitar’s fretboard.

#1 Think Keys

What is your favourite key to play in on the guitar? Is it G? E? or it could be something like Bb – or maybe not! Firstly, learn the note names in the scale. Then pick three notes in the scale and try to find them over the fretboard. You can choose to go string by string or note by note. Just make sure you find all possible notes, ensuring that you call them out as you play them.

#2 Pick 4 notes and take a guitar solo

By choosing four notes you’ll limit yourself enough to stay focus yet have a few notes to play with. Remember you can slider [up/down], bend, try different rhythms, experiment with hammers-ons and pull-offs. Don’t add any more notes, instead find a new position. Also make sure you call out the name of the note you start on each time.

#3 Fun games

If you make trying to learn where notes are on the guitar an exercise, then it will become quite boring. And quickly.

Here’s a fun game to try. Get your metronome. Set it on 80 BPM – it’s not too fast, not slow. Call out a note, I’ll try C. Then try to find C on the string in this order. B string, A String, e String [top], D String, E String [lowest], G string. Remember you’re trying to find the next note before the metronome tick, so hold you timing! Hey, that’s two skills in one fun game!

#4 String skipping

Pick two notes which are close to each other but not the next note in the scale. If you’re in the key of G, try something like C and E. Start on the low E string and find the closest note. Of course, the first note is an open string! The next note would be C, which is located is on the 8th fret. Next skip two strings – so you’re now on the D string. The E note is located on the 2nd fret. C can be found on the 10th fret.

Next try the A string, B string and to finish the top E. This means we start where we finished just in a higher octave.

#5 Hear it – Don’t Look

Let’s start with a D note. Try to find a D note without looking. Sure, you’ll miss it the first couple of times. The idea is to really hear how a D note sounds and learn how to feel where it is. This trick will drive you crazy but keep trying as you’ll see your guitar playing improve massively!

So there you have five really simple way to learn the notes on the guitar’s fretboard in a fun way which will secure your knowledge and allow you to develop faster. Do you have any way to learn where the notes are on the guitar?